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Adare battle heads to court

THE five-star Adare Manor golf resort, set in 842 acres of verdant Limerick countryside, appears to all the world to be one of the most peaceful spots in Ireland. Bill Clinton thought so when he stayed there last November.

Appearances, though, can be deceptive. Adare is at the centre of a heated trans- atlantic tug-of-war that is about to get even nastier.

The resort’s founder, the former US fighter pilot Tom Kane, is in a bitter bankruptcy battle with creditors in America, who are laying claim to his share of the resort. In court papers filed last week, they questioned payments of $8m (€5.8m) they claim were made to Kane and his wife out of Adare. Kane will defend all payments.

Kane’s family, who control 65% of the resort, are also involved in talks over its future with the National Asset Management Agency, which owns loans associated with property he